Johann Georg Michael Probst (bef. 1721 - bef. 1771)

Born before 28 Aug 1721 in Oberseebach, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Sybilla Margaretha (Unknown) Friesz — married 1770 in Berks, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died before 15 Jul 1771 at about age 49 in Albany, Berks, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Name

Name: Jean Michael /Probst/^[1]

Name: George Michael /Brobst/^[2][3]

Name: Jean Michael /Brobst/^[4][5][6]

Birth

Birth: probably summer of 1721, since he was baptized on 28 AUG 1721 in Oberseebach in the Duchy of Zweibrücken, in Lower Alsace, now Bas-Rhin, France. Baptismal record shows French form of his name, Jean Michel.

Place: Oberseebach, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France^[7]

Death

Death: 29 Jun 1771 he spoke his will aloud to his brother Valentine Probst, so Michael died sometime between that date and probate of his will, for which administrators were assigned on 15 July 1771.

Place: Albany, Berks, Pennsylvania, USA^[8]

Life

Michael PROBST married 3 times, having just 1 son with his first wife Margaretha Rosina SCHADT, 10 children with his second wife Marilis ALBRECHT,, and a final son born after Michael's death to his third wife, Anna Sybilla Margaretha UNKNOWN, for whom he was the 3rd of 4 husbands (the first two being Albany Twp neighbors Peter FRIESZ the elder and Johannes STEIGERWALD.

• Michael's full name was Johannes Georg Michael PROBST, appearing in the baptismal register at Oberseebach in Lower Alsace, France, where the family is identified as Lutheran. He appears as Johannes Michael and Jean Michel. Some genealogists prefer the French version because it reminds us that he was born in Alsace and it helps distinguish him from the other family members with the same name. • Oberseebach was at that time in the Baronie Fleckenstein. In 1685 it was a village subjected to enforced religious conversions when the duke in Heidelberg died and the land came into the hands of the French: "Village soumis aux conversions forcées en 1685." In 2012, parish registers are available online but only 1656-1685 and after 1756.

IMMIGRATION • Jean Michel was only 12 when he arrived in America at Philadelphia Oct 12 (the ship qualified on the 17th), 1732, with his parents on the John & William, commanded by Constable Tymperton, from Rotterdam via Dover, England. The Ship's List A shows two men (over age 16) Philip Jacob PROOPS, sick, and Michael PROOPS, sick; under women and children it shows Michael PROOPS, Felder PROOPS, and Cathrina PROOPS. Neither of the men signed Lists B or C, probably because they were too sick. • The oath of abjuration (required of immigrants pledging loyalty to the King of England and abjuring all earlier authorities) can be found in Volume I of Strassburger & Hinke's Pennsylvania German Pioneers, on pages 3-6.

• He is probably the Michael BROBST who fought 1758-59 under Gen. STANWIX against Indians on PA frontier, 1776 Major in Northumberland Militia, later Lt. Col. See Indian War 1758-59 Revolutionary War Northumberland Militia 1776. • 1759 Jean Michel served as a tax collector for Albany Twp. His taxes were £14. That year, he and two of his brothers were 3 of the 4 largest land owners in the Twp. Yet in 1760, says Rinkenbach, Jean Michel signed an indenture with a mark -- he couldn't write. The 1760 indentures mention him & his wife Elisabeth. • Jean Michel was naturalized as Michael PROPST at Philadelphia Supreme Court on 24 Sept 1761 (4 days after brother Jean Valentin) along with neighbors from Albany Tp: J.G. KISTLER / John KEISTLER, Simon FREESE / FRIESS, Jacob HOGABUGH / HAGENBUCH, Jacob DREESS / DRIES. This apparently required taking the sacrament, per Wayne Thomas. His brother Valentine did same on Sept 24, and Martin BROBST the following Sept 1762. Most Berks naturalization records are at the Berks Co. Court of Common Pleas.

LAND HOLDINGS • On May 3, 1749 at age 28 Jean Michel was warranted 50 acres in Albany Twp a mile NE of his father's farm, where two of his brothers also lived, and he shows on the tax rolls there 1752. Provincial records show: PROPST, Michael, 50 ac surveyed in Phila. Co. May 3, 1749. • In 1760 Jean Michel inherited 100 acres from father Philip Jacob on NW side of his father's land at Fetherolffsville, plus grist mill & implements of husbandry. (Bill Brobst thinks Jean Michel built this mill in mid 1740s.) When Michael died in 1771, he had 200 ac plus the mill in Berks Co. as well as 250 ac in Lynn Twp in Northampton Co. • This mill, on Maiden Creek between Wanamakers in Lehigh Co and Trexler Station in Berks Co., stood where the creek does a 180 degree turn around the western end of the Shochary Ridge. It was called the New Mill because Jean Michel's brother Martin PROBST had built one earlier. On 1820 map it's called WILMAN’s Mill; mid-1800s sold to David MOSSER, whose son in law Christian KISTLER 9b. 1796) operated it as MOSSER’s Mill for a couple of decades before selling it to Charles LENHART; proprty now owned by N. David KISTLER, as descendant of Jean Michel BROBST. • The grist mill building is still there along Maiden Creek, now in the County Line Orchard (1999), just inside the Berks County line, SE of Hwy 143. The mill building is now an apartment house. The mill race can be seen, somewhat filled in and grassy. Jean Michel's furnace and saw mill are no longer there and their location is uncertain, per Bill Brobst. • A Michael PROBST was assessed for taxes 1 Sept 1761 in Lynn Tp, valued at £12 3 pence per pound. Despite the county name, this will be him — the county line was very vague at the time and his land is now barely inside Albany Tp. • 24 June 1762 a petition was submitted to Justices of Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace at Easton, capital of the then Northampton County, from inhabitants of Lynn Tp of that county, for a road from George Gilbert's on the other side of the Blue Mountains down to MICHAEL PROBST's mill, then to the Great Road to Philadelphia. The jury included Charles Foulk [Carl VOLCK], a sibling in our line. (See Candace Anderson, Abstracts of Public Records: Northampton County PA & surrounding counties 1727-1779, vol. 1, p. 136, Closson Press 2001.) • Later Jean Michel was warranted 100 acres surveyed Nov. 19, 1766 and 40 acres surveyed June 6, 1769, both in present Brunswick Tp. north of the Blue Mt. in present Schuylkill Co. PA. • 1767 he paid taxes on 200 acres & grist mill plus 4 horses, 3 cattle, 4 sheep, tax £12; 1769 he paid on 250 acres & grist mill. • Jean Michel / Michael was also one of the operators of several mills farther west on Pine Creek (below Hawk Mt.) and its tributary. They were called the Union Forges & Furnace, run by him along with brothers Johannes & Valentine and a John RICHARDS, with extensive tracts of land. The property was later bought by Geo. REAGAN, an ironmaster from Virginia, who operated the ironworks, grist & sawmills, and a general store, per Dean Cunfer. — George BOONE, an Oley area land speculator, owned 232 acre along Pine Creek, most of which he sold to Valentine BROBST; part of this became the site of the Union Iron Furnace. • 1767 taxes show Jean Michel among the richest in Albany Tp. • When he died in 1771, he had lands in both Berks and Northampton Counties, totaling 783 acres and 61 perches valued at £1,718. Court documents mention "remainder in hands of said Henry PROBST.... conveys to Michael PROBST his Brother cert. three tracts of land cont. 49 acres and allowances ... and intended to be conveyed unto John PROBST... cont. 6 C. 9 per, the big part of 99 acres etc etc (part of the land received by Michael PROBST the Father by Warrant Dated 3 day May 1749), signed Henry BROBST (German signature). Witnesses: Matthias BROBST of Lynn Twp., Esq. John Okely (Berks Co. Deeds vol. 12, p. 292). • “The place to look at maps is the Berks County Tax Map office. That is where I finally found the location of my family homestead. They even had an aerial photograph of the property. Even though the property was divided over the years, the original boundary lines still exist, well almost as they were originally recorded. One of the staff members took my plot and scaled it to the same scale as their map and overlayed it on their map to find a match. It took him about 5 minutes, but then I gave him the general area to look which was a big help for him.” - Jim Freeman, Dec 2004. • Jean Michel's mill on Maiden Creek ran as both grist & sawmill for a century, till a LEVAN built a more modern grist mill 1 mile upstream in the 1870s. The sawmill ran to 1915, when owner Charles LENHART crippled his hand in a saw. The grist mill building still stands on the bank of Maiden Creek just inside the Berks Co line, SE of the highway between Wanamaker and Kempton. Enter the commercial orchard (1999) on the east side of the road. The grist mill building has been converted into apartments. • A BROBST cemetary was near his mill on Maiden Creek, somewhere.

WILL & ESTATE • Present records show both Jean Michel and his uncle of same name dying 1771. Yet Orphans Court records in Dec 1771 name what appear to be his 10 children. The uncle is probably the one who d. 1769. Jean Michel PROBST could not have died that early, as reported in the Genealogical and Biographical History of Berks Co (p. 153), because he remarried in 1770 and sired a child with Sybilla Margaretha that was b. Aug. 1771, some months after the date Jean Michel’s estate administrators were appointed, as shown in court papers. • Jean Michel PROBST died leaving a widow, his 3rd wife Sybilla Margaretha (FRIESZ-STEIGERWALT), and 10 children of whom 7 were under age 21. The information provided by the two witnesses to the oral will show that Michael was still alive on 30 June when he talked with HAGENBUCH, and died before they went to court July 10. • The Berks Co Register of Wills index database shows Michael BROBST, d. 1771, resident of Albany Tp, 50 pp of estate records. • Michael left only a spoken will, as provided by Ray FRIESS of Utah: “Nuncupative will of Michael BROBST, late of the township of Albany in the county of Berks, Miller, deceased as the same was by him spoken and declared to Valentine BROBST of the said Township, Innkeeper, on Saturday the twenty ninth day [29th] of June last past, and to Andreas HAGENBUSH of the same place, yeoman, on the thirtieth [30th] day of the said month [June] , at the Dwelling House and in the last sickness of the said Michael BROBST as follows: “That all his estate should be divided to and among his children in equal shares and that the said Valentine BROBST and Andreas HAGENBUSH should be his executors. “In testimony whereof the said Valentine BROBST and Andreas HAGENBUSH have hereunto set their hands this tenth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred seventy one.” • However, the cover sheet in the file at Reading PA says “A paper produced as Nuncupative will of Michael BROBST. H.B. Widow renounced her right of administration. Administration granted to Henry BROBST of Albany (eldest son of this Michael BROBST), Andreas HAGENBUSH and Valentine BROBST the 15 July 1771. N.B. Henry executed a writing declaring that he would accept a single equal share with the other children of the deceased. The witnesses being called executors and the disposition of the estate herein mentioned being uncertain, the will was NOT proved.” • In Lynn Tp of Northampton Co, where he also had property, he is recorded as dying intestate. Northampton Co. Orphans Court [Docket D, p. 129] on 17 Dec 1771 says he died "about 5 mths ago" and names his widow Margaret and 10 children: Henry, Martin, & John were of age; the remaining 7 were under 21, namely Michael, Jacob, Valentine, Christian, George Michael, Catharine, & Maria. The youngest [George Michael] was born less than a month after Jean Michel died. The petition asks the Orphan's Court to return to the children the 250 acres of Jean Michel's land that were seized because he had died “intestate” 5 months earlier [actually, that was the date of probate]. • Jacob GERTNER / GORTNER of Richmond Tp. and Frederick HILL & Valentine BROBST, both of Albany Tp, were appointed guardians of Anna Maria, Valentine, Christian, and George Michael. Valentine BROBST and Andrew HAGENBUCH, both of Albany Tp, were appointed guardian of Jacob, Michael, and Catharine -- Orphans Court Bk. 2, pp.110, 113, 114, Berks Co., Nov. 1771. • His land was described as "Land situate in Lynn Tp adjoining the Proprietary 300 acres and Land of Jacob Frier [FRIES], Jacob BÄRR, and Valentine BROBST containing 250 acres." • "Michael died possessed of certain messuage Tenants and Tracts of Land situated partly in Berks County and partly in said Northampton County Containing in whole about Seven Hunddred and eighty three Acres and Sixty one Perches besides the Customare allowances And the Orphans Court Dec. 17, 1771....leaving widow and Issue ten Children...same valued at One Thousand seven Hundred and eighteen Pounds etc....remainder in hands of said Henry PROBST...conveys to Michael PROBST his Brother Cert. three Tracts of land cont. 49 acres and allowances...Beginning...extending by Land intended to be conveyed unto John PROBST...Cont. 6 C. 9 per. the big part of ninety nine acres etc. etc. etc. (part of the land rec'd by Michael PROBST the Father by Warrant Dated 3 day May 1749, signed Henry BROBST (German signature). Wits: Matthias BROBST of Lynn Twp. Esq. John Okely. (Berks Co. Deeds Vol 12, p. 292.) • MARGARET BROBST widow of Michael Brobst signs Release for her dower rights on Aug. 16, 1771. Margaret BROBST widow and Relict of Michael PROBST late of Albany Twp. Berks Co. Pa. Yeoman [landowner] deceased...For the Sum of One hundred and forty Pounds Lawful Money of Pennsylvania....paid by Valentine PROBST of Albany Twp.....yeoman and Andreas HAGENBACH.. of same place, yeoman, Administrators of the goods and Chattels....of said Michael BROBST deceased for and in Behalf of all the Children and Representatives of him the said Michael PROBST. Releases her Dower Claim etc. signed her Margaret X BROBST mark Wits.: to Ack. Sept. 25 1771 Peter TREXLER, Jacob I G GORDNER mark. • The court-appointed administrator for Jean Michel’s estate was his oldest son Georg Henrich PROBST, whose mother was Jean Michel's first wife, Margaretha SCHADT. • 18 March 1772 Northampton Co. Orphans Court (Vol. D, p. 129) shows eldest son Henry accepted his father's land. Since an eldest son was only entitled to a double share of the estate, Henry had to promise to pay the remaining value of the land to his siblings. Sheriff Peter KACHLEIN and Henry ALLSHOUSE stood surety for him in this. • The 12 men who had evaluated the estate included Philip MOSER, who swore oath, and George KISTLER and Daniel OSWALT, who gave affirmations (which suggested that they may have been Moravians or some other group that didn't believe in swearing oaths).

Event

Type: Arrival

Date: 1732

Place: Pennsylvania, USA

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S00073 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Jean Michael Probst
2. ↑ Source: #S00023 Page: Ancestry Family Trees Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=19954564&pid=1040938817
3. ↑ Source: #S00023 Page: Ancestry Family Trees Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=19954564&pid=1040939070
4. ↑ Source: #S00026 Page: Birth year: 1767; Birth city: Albany Twp; Birth state: PA.
5. ↑ Source: #S00033 Page: Place: Pennsylvania; Year: 1732; Page Number: 396. Data: Text: Arrival date: 1732Arrival place: Pennsylvania
6. ↑ Source: #S00023 Page: Ancestry Family Trees Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=19954564&pid=1089839338
7. ↑ Source: #S00073 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Jean Michel Probst
8. ↑ Source: #S00073 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Jean Michael Probst

• Source: S00073 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;; Repository: #R00002 NOTEAncestry.com, Public Member Trees (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;), Source Medium: (null) Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006).
• Repository: R00002 Name: www.ancestry.com Address: E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Brobst: Pedigree Register of Early Brobst Families by William Arthur Brobst (1997) p. 2

This shows marriages of Margaret Shadt and Maria Elizabeth Albrecht.

• Albany Twp Historical Society, newsletter, vol. 12, no. 4, Winter 2009, p. 4

• Giuseppi, M. S., Naturalizations in the American Colonies, Naturalizations of Foreign Protestants in the American Colonies, 1921.

• Provincial Papers: Warranties of Land in the Several Counties of the State of Pennsylvania 1730-1898, Engle, William Henry, William Stanley Ray, State Printer of Pennsylvania, I (1898).

• Oberseebach [Alsace] katholische und protestantische Kirchenbuch [ms.].

• Tax List [1767] of Berks County PA 1767, F. Edward Wright, ed., Westminster MD: Willow Bend Books 2000.

• Strassburger, Ralph B., & Hinke, William John, Pennsylvania German Pioneers: Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, Penna. German Society 1934 / Baltimore MD: Genealogical Pubg. Co. 1980, Vol. I: 1727-1775, Vol. II: 1785-1808.

• Northampton Co. Orphans Court [Docket D, p. 129] on 17 Dec 1771
• Northampton Co. Orphans Court Bk. 2, pp.110, 113, 114, Berks Co., Nov. 1771.
• Northampton Co. Orphans Court (Vol. D, p. 129)

Also see:

• Source: S00023 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;; Repository: #R00001 NOTEAncestry Family Trees (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Source Medium: (null) Ancestry Family Trees (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.
• Repository: R00001 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S00026 Author: Edmund West, comp. Title: Family Data Collection - Individual Records Publication: Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.;; Repository: #R00001 NOTEEdmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Individual Records (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.;), Source Medium: (null) Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Individual Records (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.).
• Source: S00033 Author: Gale Research Title: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Publication: Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. P; Repository: #R00001 NOTEGale Research, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. P), Source Medium: (null) Gale Research, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. Passeng).